State unemployment insurance taxes are based on a percentage of the taxable wages an employer pays.

The Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA) requires that each state's taxable wage base must at least equal the FUTA wage base of $7,000 per employee, although most states' wage bases exceed the required amount.

Some states apply various formulas to determine the taxable wage base, others use a percentage of the state's average annual wage, and many simply follow the FUTA wage base.

Following is the chart of State Taxable Wage Bases for 2015, 2014, 2013, and 2012. States that have changed their wage base for 2015 are highlighted in bold face.